Markets - Equity

LONDON: Britain's top share index turned lower on Tuesday, hindered by a drop in tobacco companies, but was still headed for its best quarterly gain since 2013, underpinned by a rally in Kingfisher after its trading update.Consumer staple stocks trimmed nearly 16 points off the blue-chip FTSE 100, weighed down by a 2.4 percent fall in British American Tobacco and a 2.6 percent drop in Imperial Tobacco.The sector was pegged back by concern that a proposed merger of U.S. peers Reynolds and Lorillard might fall through. Imperial is set to acquire assets from Reynolds if the deal happens, while BAT has a stake in Reynolds.Imperial Tobacco hit record highs earlier this month and is up 13 percent since the deal was announced."The possibility of regulatory intervention to this deal is affecting the sector, and makes the outlook more cautious," said Chris Beauchamp, market analyst at IG."A lot of the recent ...

BANGKOK: Southeast Asian stock markets rose on Tuesday, with the Philippine index posting its best quarterly gain in the region amid end-quarter portfolio buying and foreign inflows, while Thai tourism shares regained some lost ground on plans to lift martial law.Thai SET index finished up 0.6 percent, eking out 0.6 percent gain in the first quarter of the year, Southeast Asia's worst performing bourse.Shares of hotelier Central Plaza Hotel ended the day down 0.8 percent, ...

MUMBAI: India's benchmark BSE index posted its worst monthly fall in more than two years, raising concerns a strong rally that saw indexes surge in the fiscal year was waning due to concerns about stock valuations and a more gradual economic growth.For the month, the BSE index fell 4.8 percent, its worst monthly performance since February 2013. The NSE index lost 4.6 percent, its biggest decline since August 2013.The falls provided a weak end to ...

HONG KONG: Asian markets mostly rose on Tuesday after China's decision to ease mortgage rules fuelled hopes for further stimulus measures, but afternoon profit-taking pared a morning rally, with Tokyo and Shanghai ending more than one percent lower.While traders were given a strong lead from Wall Street, there is lingering nervousness over Greece's attempts to reform its bailout terms, putting downward pressure on the euro.Sydney added 0.78 percent, or 45.4 points, to 5,891.5 and Seoul ...